Sunday, 24 March 2013

Space Artifacts Auction: Buzz Aldrin Not Participating

Buzz Aldrin Refutes Space Sale, Is Keeping Moon Memorabilia

This Apollo 11 lunar ascent procedure sheet is being sold by Bonhams New York City on March 25, 2013, but not on astronaut Buzz Aldrin's behalf. CREDIT: Bonhams

A New York auction house is set to sell more than 300 space artifacts on Monday (March 25), including original documents that were flown to the moon and used to carry out the first manned lunar landing.

But contrary to recent headlines prompted by Bonhams' upcoming "Space History Sale," the Apollo 11 moonwalker,whose lunar-traveled checklists and flight plans are being offered, is not the one doing the selling.

"I am not offering any items for sale from my current collection of Apollo 11 articles in the Bonhams auction," astronaut Buzz Aldrin said in statement provided to collectSPACE.com. "The Apollo 11 items being auctioned on Monday are being resold from auctions that took place in 2007 or earlier at the instigation of my ex-wife and her daughter who acted as my attorney and business manager."

Buzz Aldrin, who with the late Neil Armstrong walked on the moon's Sea of Tranquility in 1969, was divorced from his wife of 24 years, Lois Driggs Cannon Aldrin, in December. The 83-year-old astronaut cited "irreconcilable differences" as to the reason for the separation.

The artifacts now being resold include flight plan pages, a checklist card and the procedure sheets that were used by Aldrin and Armstrong to lift off from the moon's surface.